Chinese LED Lights

bhazard451 said:
I can no longer PM for the time being. Search my posts on the old thread for "driver swap" or "apex". It'll give you the specs of the drivers you would need to buy, which I also bought from another chinese company. The drivers may not be able to fit inside a d120 however, they were pretty thick, and a standard Meanwell wont work the way things are wired.
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Nope~dc
 
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RiddleEagle18 said:
Bhazard - That new grid unit you got. Do you know how they are dimming the lights. Are they using a PWM driver. Could their display be unhooked and hook up an APEX right the the driver?
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I'm not 100% sure, but they look the same as the drivers used for the d120 and Nova. Those drivers were neither 0-10v or PWM. They used resistance dimming.
 
jefftse said:
bhazard is right~dc
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I wouldn't have the time, and no. It is probably against forum rules to even mention it.

Reefbreeders will do it though. They offer the ability if you purchase the light from them. You could buy the Apollo Reef Led light as well.
 
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bhazard451 said:
This is tough. Are the lights in a canopy? If not, you really should think about putting optics on the ones that don't have them with 31" of water. You'll get very little PAR to the sandbed without them, and it would even things out a bit better.
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I have been running three lights with the no optics for over a year now and grow sps,acans,chalices etc on my sand bed with great color.. i figured adding 2 or 3 more with the 90 degree optics would just be a plus for me..im just worried about the configuration moreso,,should i alternate the ones with and without optics ?? or put the ones with optics all in the middle etc..

Im assuming i will put the 90 degree optics on the outside since they are more focused and the no optics in the middle

TIA
 
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psusocr said:
I have been running three lights with the no optics for over a year now and grow sps,acans,chalices etc on my sand bed with great color.. i figured adding 2 or 3 more with the 90 degree optics would just be a plus for me..im just worried about the configuration moreso,,should i alternate the ones with and without optics ?? or put the ones with optics all in the middle etc..

Im assuming i will put the 90 degree optics on the outside since they are more focused and the no optics in the middle

TIA
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I would probably alternate.

A year with great color and growth? Definitely would love to see pics of the tank.
 
bhazard451 said:
I'm actually interested in how the first light is too, but no one has tried it. The price was a bit high when I got a quote, especially for Crees. Like you, I wasn't willing to gamble and didn't see the value. The leds are spread a bit far for my liking too.

96 3W leds will not match up to two 400w halides. You would need nearly 180watts of leds per 36" of length. My DIY is 180watts over 24" and just about compares to 400w MH.
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Thanks, bhazard. Would you think that even 3W CREE LEDs would not be able to match two 250w halides? The question for me isn't necessarily about matching the current 400W x 2 that I currently have (as it is probably a little overkill) but whether or not that fixture - with BL or CREE LEDs would provide enough light in the middle 4 feet of tank.

So are you saying the the four D120s would be the way you would lean?

What would those you who have bought these say offer the best combination of digital spectrum control as well as the ability to daisy chain? I am looking for something like a D120 that has a little slicker control interface. I love the idea of only running one power cord (if you are like me you have way too many cords all over the place - hate it).
 
I am quite dissapointed. I was an hour away from making a purchase on the evergrow d120's based on bhazard assuring me that they would be great for growing sps.

Then I read a new thread titled ~"Leaving LED's for metal halide after 9 months." Bhazard posted the following in that forum
"The only fixture on the market I would even use would be the Maxspect Razor, but even that is missing some red LEDs that I feel add a lot to a led fixture. They are far too costly to not be 100% happy with.

I consider the d120 as a fixture on the market. Bhazard; if you are reading this, can you clarify if you consider the d120 or any of these chinese lights as a fixture on the market?
 
As someone who is new to this site and rapidly trying to get up to speed on these black boxes, I am very confused by this above statement. I did not see the post but thought the feedback on these units were pretty good. What to do??
 
ecfarr said:
I am quite dissapointed. I was an hour away from making a purchase on the evergrow d120's based on bhazard assuring me that they would be great for growing sps.

Then I read a new thread titled ~"Leaving LED's for metal halide after 9 months." Bhazard posted the following in that forum
"The only fixture on the market I would even use would be the Maxspect Razor, but even that is missing some red LEDs that I feel add a lot to a led fixture. They are far too costly to not be 100% happy with.

I consider the d120 as a fixture on the market. Bhazard; if you are reading this, can you clarify if you consider the d120 or any of these chinese lights as a fixture on the market?
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I mean't something that you can basically go into a store and buy, or order from major sites. In that case, yes, the only store bought fixture I would get right now is the Razor.

Although these lights are sold commercially obviously, they aren't major brand names like AI or Ecotech. Not yet anyway... but in the future, who knows with the amount of interest in them :)

.. and I do have one fuzzy acro from the very start of my tank that is definitely growing. I've never had much success keeping SPS long term in the past, so this one will be my reference.
 
ecfarr said:
I am quite dissapointed. I was an hour away from making a purchase on the evergrow d120's based on bhazard assuring me that they would be great for growing sps.
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Let me throw my .02 in on this:

A couple months ago, my LFS swapped out their 4 DE 250W metal halides w PC actinic bulbs for a rigged together lighting scheme consisting of alternating colored strips (3 x 460nm and 4 x 10K) of Reef-Brite LEDs from one end the tank to another. I believe they are running 7 continuous strips from front to back (though it could have been as few as 5) running down the length of a 8 foot long 240G. I have personally seen SPS frags brought in dying or in bad shape from customers that have encrusted and are growing. The system grew SPS fine under halides as well, to be sure. I do not believe Reef-Brites have CREEs, I believe they were 3W bulbs ran @ 1.5W.

LEDs can grow SPS.


Can I get some feedback on the following light layout?
LED.png


I have been running Reeflux or Radiums on E-Ballasts and like the look.
 
This is my lone acro frag that i got maybe 2 months ago, not sure. It has about 2 new branches since it was put in. It survived an ATO incident and a cyano bloom where some others didn't.

One thing about using high power WW Crees, reds and greens.. if your water is in good shape, you won't notice much algae growth, but if nitrates/phosphates are up, it can grow cyano a little quicker.

IMG_20120911_201433.jpg
 
All I need to know is that if I order the IT2040 for my 36" shallow tank (10" in height) will it provide enough light to cover the whole tank if I hang it, and will the pre set color combo from reef breeders be sufficient for LPS, Clams, and possibly SPS or should I say screw it and make a full spectrum DIY CREE
 
bhazard,

Do you know where I can get a copy of the spectral analysis of the Cree and Bridgelux 440nm and 450nm LEDs?
 
Noone should be afraid to grow sps with LEDS. They work period..i actually beleive regardless of the brand they will grow SPS. IMO its more about husbandry, water changes, observation, monitoring your levels etc.. Thats what grows sps...Some grow quicker than other, some color faster than others ... but at the end of the day you can successfully keep any coral under LEDS
 
cmac23 said:
All I need to know is that if I order the IT2040 for my 36" shallow tank (10" in height) will it provide enough light to cover the whole tank if I hang it, and will the pre set color combo from reef breeders be sufficient for LPS, Clams, and possibly SPS or should I say screw it and make a full spectrum DIY CREE
Click to expand...

Should be fine. These lights have more than enough power to grow anything... although I do love me some DIY Cree :)
 
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